[SOLVED] installing Slackware 14.2 on a Dell XPS 9370 laptop

pisti · 03-30-2019, 01:46 PM

is there anybody out there who got Slackware 14.2 running on the Dell XP 9370 13inch laptop ? i mean with a working X11, wifi and touchscreen etc. the Realtek eth0 is now functional with a Dell DA300 USB-C hub.

i could (not) wait also for slack v15 but it would be very useful to get this laptop running soon which i bought some 1.5 months ago. what's your take on this ?

Drakeo · 03-30-2019, 03:46 PM

del used to offer Ubuntu on it as an alternative. many slackers running them. I never had an issue with slackware and dell since 1998.
give it a shot.

linus72 · 03-30-2019, 03:53 PM

Slackware 14.2 runs great on my older Dell Inspiron 1545, I had to install broadcom for wireless from SlackBuilds.
BTW I also built a custom 5.0.2 Xanmod kernel for mine which works great!
https://xanmod.org/

pisti · 03-30-2019, 04:38 PM

i also owned over the years my share of Dell laptops, three actually, and they all worked - after some tweaks - wonderfully with Slackware. now, i got the current new one installed with slack142 but i am a bit lost with the X driver i915, at least with the installed stock version. X just doesn't want to start... then, wifi would be the other hard nut to crack...

any advice for this current scenario, a Dell XPS 9370 with 4K at 13inch ?

Timothy Miller · 03-30-2019, 07:20 PM

I'm not a regular Slackware user, but the stock kernel may not have the drivers for the wifi. Which card did you get, the Killer or the Intel?

For the video, you might be in the same boat again, also I would use the modesetting driver instead of i915. Modesetting far more likely to work without issues.

pisti · 03-30-2019, 08:25 PM

thanks, Timothy.

regarding wifi : the laptop features a Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 (and i remember your input a month ago at the same place - i just didn't have time yet to pursue your suggestion).

regarding video : wow, modesetting, that's something new to me ! i knew in the past about fb, maybe a similar beast ? in any case, i need to look into modesetting and how to specify this in the xorg.conf file. currently i have no clue what direction to go from here.

pisti · 03-30-2019, 09:09 PM

i guess i got this modesetting running for X but things are extremely slow, non-accelerated, especially around edges where the mouse pointer gets stuck. i had to rename xorg.conf to something else and thereafter this modesetting driver kicked in automagically. still, it is not very useful at its current state, slow as it is, so i will need to find a different or an adjusted solution.

but in any case, thank you very much for the hint - that was a big step forward ! at least i see that the 4K screen works, and how microscopic small the pixels are

now i have to deal with the remaining issues, wifi in first line, then camera and so on...

Timothy Miller · 03-31-2019, 12:01 AM

6174 isn't a terribly old wifi chipset, although it's not like it was JUST released, either. I have that on at least 1 system. On Debian, it requires non-free firmware (firmware-atheros), is there a package that provides the atheros firmware separate from other firmware for Slackware, or is it included with the ordinary kernel or firmware package do you know? And if it's included, does it include the correct versions of firmware to work (you can use lspci to see what driver that card is using (should be ath10k if memory serves), then check dmesg to see if it's complaining about firmware).

BTW, if you haven't figured things out in a couple weeks, I may be able to help more. I'm actually getting a 9370 as my new corporate laptop. While I'll be running Ubuntu (or maybe KDE Neon) not Slackware, I will at least have the same hardware.

pisti · 03-31-2019, 12:20 AM

you are right, Timothy, your firmware trace for the Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 seems to be correct ! i guess i need to find that piece of 'firmware' though i am not sure yet where and how to look for it.

here the dmesg output :

Code:

dmesg | grep ath10k
[    7.504566] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: pci irq msi-x interrupts 8 irq_mode 0 reset_mode 0
[    7.939099] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/cal-pci-0000:02:00.0.bin failed with error -2
[    7.939642] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin failed with error -2
[    7.939649] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin': -2
[    8.006040] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: failed to fetch board data for ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0 from bus=pci,vendor=168c,device=003e,subsystem-vendor=1a56,subsystem-device=143a/board-2.bin
[   10.123601] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: qca6174 hw3.2 (0x05030000, 0x00340aff sub 1a56:143a) fw WLAN.RM.2.0-00180-QCARMSWPZ-1 fwapi 4 bdapi 1 htt-ver 3.26 wmi-op 4 htt-op 3 cal otp max-sta 32 raw 0 hwcrypto 1 features wowlan,ignore-otp,no-4addr-pad
[   10.156572] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 0 dfs 0 testmode 0
[   13.187375] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not suspend target (-11)
[   18.826077] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11
[   24.825728] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not suspend target (-11)
[   30.120295] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11
[   36.119980] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not suspend target (-11)
[   41.410612] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11
[   47.410268] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not suspend target (-11)
[   52.720897] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11
[   58.720352] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not suspend target (-11)
[   64.028060] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11
[   70.027736] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not suspend target (-11)
[  265.250262] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11
[  271.249908] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not suspend target (-11)
[  467.227474] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11
[  473.227155] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not suspend target (-11)
[  669.216664] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11
[  675.216321] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not suspend target (-11)
...

then to get the webcam going seems to become another little adventure...

onebuck · 03-31-2019, 06:39 AM

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <Slackware> and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

frankbell · 03-31-2019, 08:15 PM

I don't have any Dells right now, but I've run Linux, including Slackware, on a number Dells. The only issue I ever encountered was getting Broadcom wireless, which Dell favored for Inspirons, working. It took a couple of extra steps, but it could be got working.

pisti · 03-31-2019, 08:39 PM

yes, you are right, frankbell, i remember those Broadcom's on a Dell mini 9 and a Dell M6400 Precision. such encounters are usually painful first as new, but later things tend to go smoother already. my current problems with the ath10k and other drivers for the Dell XPS 9370 are again something new, i.e. cumbersome.

regarding the ath10k firmware, i am wondering if i should simply remove my v14.2 Slack's current kernel firmware library and install instead the newest one from current such as :

Code:

kernel-firmware-20190314_7bc2464-noarch-1.txz

will i break something ? i have zero experience with these firmware files. thanks for feedback !

bassmadrigal · 03-31-2019, 08:45 PM

I would only use a more recent firmware if you're using a more recent kernel. I wouldn't use that new of a firmware if you're still on the 4.4.x series (since the drivers in the older kernel may not be able to use the newer firmware and could break things), but if you're running the 4.19.x series, then it is definitely worth upgrading the firmware.

pisti · 03-31-2019, 09:03 PM

that's very helpful to know, bassmadrigal, thank you for your reply !

in this case i may have to play with the 4.19 kernel, install perhaps

Quote:

kernel-huge-4.19.32-x86_64-1.txz

then update lilo, and if that all boots, then to install the corresponding firmware library after removing the original old one that comes with Slack142. does this sound feasible ?

frankbell · 03-31-2019, 10:04 PM

Quote:

yes, you are right, frankbell, i remember those Broadcom's on a Dell mini 9 and a Dell M6400

I had a Dell Mini 9. I was quite fond of it.

I eventually gave it to my daughter when her Windows box bought the farm; it sustained her until she could get yet another Windows box . . . .

I'm getting lazy in my old age. Now, when I need a new box, I buy only native Linux computers.